Letters To My Beloved
by themagentaduchess
Summary: At fifteen, Katara had never understood why every month, she wrote a letter to an unknown man. As she comes closer to her sixteenth birthday, she will soon find out the identity of her beloved letter writer...Zutara, AU, rated T for now
1. Prologue

A/N: Hello wonderful readers. This is my first attempt at a Zutara fic, so be patient with me for updates. This is an AU fic set within the storyline of the A:TLA series, so let me know if you want me to continue.

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><p>Long ago, in a time of great sorrow and war, a prince and a chief fought for dominance. Their clans supported them in all they could, however the two men warred as though the fight was only between the two of them. In many ways, these two men were very similar, both having a beloved wife with a son to inherit their vast lands. They took great pride in their victories and suffered deeply at the defeats. One day, during a battle, word came from the prince's home that his wife had given birth to a baby girl, and in the moments that followed, his army was defeated. The chief looked upon the prince with a kindness that only comes with empathy,, sending him away with a warning that he should not return to the lands of the water and ice people.<p>

A few months passed and the chief was blessed with the birth of a daughter of his own, and he cherished his two children. Noticing that from a very early age, the princess was skilled in bending the waters of their lands, the chief decided that she would be placed under the tutelage of her grandmother. The princess learned much from her grandmother; from the skills required in keeping a house, as well as the art of bending water. While the princess grew, tensions between the prince and the chief rose again, which drew the chief away from his family for many a month. The princess was often left behind in the company of her brother and mother to fend for the village, should any raiders or stray army folk come by, however unlikely the occasion was.

One day however, everything changed. Having drawn the chief away from his family and lands, the prince launched a counter attack, where the benders and fighters of the chief's clan were taken prisoner. The prince stood on the deck and watched as his army ransacked the little village, taking into custody any person who had the mark of a bender upon them. Just as one of the soldiers was about to take a young girl prisoner, the chief's wife stood up. She told the fire prince that she was the last of the benders in the tribe and that they had captured all the rest.

The girl was afraid, restrained by a guard as she watched her mother make a sacrifice unlike any she had ever seen before. The prince seemed to consider the option put before him, then motioned to take the woman prisoner. The young girl cried out, and was silenced instantly by the cuff of a soldiers hand into her face. She looked into the prince's eyes, a burning hatred showing in her face. The prince's ship left the village soon after that, taking the perilous trip through the ice fields.

When the chief heard the news of his wife's capture and the demise of the waterbenders in his tribe, he broke down. Rushing to the offices of the prince, he pleaded for mercy for his wife. The prince's heart was closed and he coolly told the chief that the woman had been killed on the way to his nation. The chief fell to his knees, sobbing, and thinking desperately to the tribe that have given him their service gladly, he had one last idea in his mind. Looking to the prince beside him, the chief pledged the hand of his young daughter to the prince's son, in exchange for the tribe being left alone by the prince's army. He also offered up his own freedom, thinking only of protecting his son and daughter left behind.

The fire prince contemplated this development and eventually decided to take the chief up on the offer. Accepting the betrothal, the terms for the marriage were set and the chief was clapped in iron chains. The prince sent a message to the daughter of the chief by an owlhawk, instructing her to correspond with his son and demanding the grandmother to prevent the two from meeting by all means until the princess the age of sixteen. He also outlined the terms of the contract to the grandmother, adding that the army would not protect the tribe if attacked and that the tribe would be left alone until it was time to collect the princess. The grandmother wrote back to the prince, agreeing to the terms and with her message to the newly crowned Fire Lord, sending the first of many letters to the young prince Zuko from her granddaughter.


	2. Chapter One

**AN: Hello lovelies, it's been a while. Here is the next installment of Letters to My Beloved, here for your viewing pleasure.**

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><p>Chapter One<p>

_To my dear friend,_

_How are you? As I write this today, I am reminded of the fact that your letters come more often than I send them to you. I received the ribbon that you sent for my pendant and are eager to..._

Katara threw down her charcoal in frustration and moved the letter to one side of the desk. Pulling out the black ribbon that her friend had sent her, she looked at it with mixed feelings, before reaching into her pocket and taking out a worn blue stone. Inherited from her grandmother and carved by the first chief of the Southern Water Tribe to give to his wife, the pendant was given to the princess of the tribe upon the news of her betrothal in every generation as a sign that she would take a husband and the responsibility of guarding the tribe with her life. Katara smoothed her fingers over the stone, before taking the loop and threading the ribbon through it. She combed through her hair with her fingers, before tying the choker around her neck. Studying herself in a mirror, she took a few more moments to fiddle around with the pendant, when her brother walked in.

"So Katara, are you going to sit in here all day, or are you going to help Gran Gran before she dies of old age." Sokka, the imperious older brother stomped around in the little hut, before noticing the necklace Katara now wore. "Woaaah, nice piece you got there, did Gran Gran say you could wear it?"

"I got the ribbon that _he_ sent me. I didn't want to wear the pendant until I got it." She touched the stone self conciously.

"So you're now a betrothed girl. The men of the tribe will be at a loss...oh wait. I'm the only man of the tribe." Sokka chuckled with a goofy grin. He mussed his little sister's hair before strolling out of the hut. Calling to her from the outside, Sokka rustled the door beads. "I wasn't lying about needing help out here."

Katara pulled on her fur lined jacket and gloves, covering the necklace with the lacings of her coat. She packed away her charcoal, determined to finish the letter later and headed outside. The morning in the South Pole was bright and sunny, with a medium wind blowing from the east. Tribespeople went about their daily business, bringing fish from the waters that bordered their lands and making repairs to their boats. The fishing season had been tight in this year and the women of the tribe was having to be much more self sufficient. Ever since the men had gone off to war, the children and women had stepped up their efforts in taking care of themselves. Sokka was the last of the young men left behind, not quite old enough to go out to war. In his gloved hands, he held his boomerang and sword, and on his back, a pack for holding seal meat. He motioned for Katara to follow him and set out past the walls that bordered the tribe's village.

"We're going to come back this time with a bigger seal."

"Sokka, you always say that! We've never even come back with a seal for the tribe."

"Maybe this time will be my lucky time! Besides, the people are getting hungrier and since I am the man of the tribe, I have to provide." He stuck his head in the air and did not notice Katara muttering to herself. Together they headed out into the ice fields. Neither spoke much, and while Sokka looked around for tracks, Katara practiced her bending. Still being very young, she was training every day in order to hone her skills and was hoping that someday soon she could become a master. Sokka's tracking skills left a lot to be desired, so Katara could peacefully practice. While in one of her sequences, she could feel a rumbling within her feet. Clearing the snow from the ice shelf she stood one, she noticed a bright light underneath her.

"Sokka, come quick!" Calling to Sokka, she ran back from the cracking ice to find him. The ice continued to rise and a giant bubble rose from the deep waters below. Sokka reached her just as the bubble stopped moving. They looked at each other, before Katara took a few tentative steps towards it. Sokka grabbed for her almost as soon as she moved.

"Just leave it Katara, you don't know what it is or where it's been." He held her back and after moments of struggling she grabbed his boomerang and ran for the bubble. Taking a huge leap, she threw the weapon with all her might and felt the shockwave from the bubble bursting push her back across the ice. When she stood, she could just see a large fluffy animal and cradled in the animal's paws was a boy, albeit dripping wet. Running to his aid, she woke him gently and was able to drag him back from the cracks of the ice. Sokka cowered behind a rock, before he stuck his head out and wandered across to where Katara was now crouching. The boy in Katara's arms stirred quietly, staring up into her eyes with a fierceness that she could almost not match His face cracked a huge smile and he sat up straight away.

"Will you come penguin sledding with me?" Katara's blank face showed very little emotion, alluring to her shock and disbelief. She nodded weakly and responded to the strange boy.

"Ok, uh sure?" The boy smiled and floated to his feet in what seemed like joy. After a few minutes of introductions, Katara and Sokka learned that the boy's name was Aang and that the animal that had protected the boy in the ice was a flying bison, named Appa. Katara's thoughts immediately flew to the Avatar, upon watching the way that the boy manipulated the air currents around him. Together, the three new friends rode back to the village on the back of the bison, Aang falling asleep on the journey back to the tent city.

On arriving at the village, Sokka picked up the boy and carried him into their family tent. Katara helped to arrange a few blankets around him to keep the boy warm, before she pulled out her unfinished letter.

_I received the ribbon that you sent for my pendant and are eager to wear the necklace around the village. I hope that this letter finds you well and in good health. Oh, if only you could have experienced everything that I have today. Surely, you of all people, would find such activities to be most exciting and auspicious. I feel as though I am on the brink of a new adventure, and as such, shall attack any obstacle that comes my way. I continue to find you in good graces and pray that your family is well and that you are able to respond rather quickly._

_In kindness and longing,_

_Your Beloved._

Finishing the last few letters, she called her messenger bird, Kree, to her side and attached the letter to the post cylinder. Patting the bird on the head, she waited a few more moments before a good wind broke out and she sent Kree into the sky.


End file.
